- Monochromatic color palettes start with a single hue and then use shades and/or tints of that color to expand to two, three, or more colors. For print publishing, using tints of a single color is one way to use color without the expense of traditional four-color process printing. Add black ink for text and accents. Learm more about using tints of spot colors for design.
- Analogous or harmonizing color palettes use two or more adjacent colors on the color wheel. If using a very small segment of the color wheel, adding shades or tints of one or more of the hues can keep these colors from being too washed out or low-contrast.
- Complementary color palettes may use two, three, or four complementary color pairs. With the split complementary palette look to either side of the complement (opposite) of your main color to find a suitable pair to complete the triad.
- Triad color palettes use a trio of colors. Start my finding three colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel and work from there.
- Mix it up by picking a complementary pair then adding a tint (or two) of one of the colors (monochromatic + complementary). Or choose two to four analogous (adjacent) colors plus the complement of one of those hues (analogous + complementary).
These are just starting points. There are no hard and fast, immutable rules for mixing and matching colors. You'll also find that color wheels shown on various sites may differ quite a bit so that direct opposites on one color wheel are somewhat different on another. That's OK. Moving a few hues one way or the other when pairing up colors is how we end up with all kinds of interesting color palettes. Bottom line: Choose color combinations that look right for your project.
- How many colors should you use? Two to five (including black or white) is common. More than that (excluding photographs) can become visually overwhelming -- and depending on your printing method/type of ink can be costly. But that's just a guideline, not a rule. With Web pages, using more colors doesn't affect cost except in terms of lost customers if the colors are too much.
- How much of each color should you use? While balance is important, that doesn't mean you should use equal amounts of every color in your chosen palette. Balance a dose of a strong color with smaller amounts of several lighter or tamer colors. Again, there are no absolutes. If you are using a pair of very strong colors, using less of one of them can keep your page from overwhelming the reader.
- Are there any color combos that should never be used? Maybe. Maybe not. See Forbidden Color Combinations?
